Leg Buys: Brisbane Heat fill the final BBL spot as they urge CA to make WBBL change
Brisbane have filled the final BBL list spot with an Aussie all-rounder as they manage their roster availability issues while on the back of their WBBL final loss, the Heat have urged CA to give the league a ‘rethink’.
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The final primary Big Bash League list vacancy has been filled with reigning champions Brisbane Heat re-signing Australian representative all-rounder Jack Wildermuth.
But the Heat will remain busy on a list management front given they now possess three members of Australia’s Test top four - for the time being at least - in the form of Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Perth Test debutant Nathan McSweeney.
Wildermuth, 31, hasn’t played a BBL match since New Year’s Day 2022 but has remained on the club’s books in recent seasons and was a member of the squad for January’s final in which the Heat defeated the Sydney Sixers at the SCG.
He has also been on the fringes of Queensland’s Sheffield Shield and one-day cup sides this year. Wildermuth’s strongest BBL campaign came with the Melbourne Renegades seven seasons ago. His 311 runs and 10 wickets across 2017-18 were enough to catapult him into the Australian squad for an off-Broadway Twenty20 international tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Pakistan in which Wildermuth played twice for his nation.
His signing by the Heat denies other clubs the chance to acquire him as a replacement player. A return to the Renegades would not have been out of the question given Will Sutherland’s race against time to return from the side strain that ruled him out of a recent Australian white-ball opening.
The Hobart Hurricanes could also be in the local replacement player market amid ongoing injury issues for Iain Carlisle and Mac Wright.
Afghanistan’s Waqar Salamkheil has replaced fellow wrist-spinner Rishad Hossain of Bangladesh at Hobarrt after the latter became unavailable because of commitments in the Bangladesh Premier League.
As revealed by this column last week, the Melbourne Stars signed 40-year-old Peter Siddle for their final list vacancy. The Stars and Heat had been the last two clubs to leave positions available ahead of the season’s commencement on December 15.
It continues a recent trend of Siddle acting as Scott Boland’s understudy given the ex-Test paceman has filled in for Boland at Victoria and Durham and is likely to have more opportunities given Boland’s involvement with the Australian Test squad.
The Adelaide Strikers may need to replace Brendan Doggett depending on how long he remains with the Test squad following his call-up in recent days, while Thomas Kelly has also been struck down with injury.
Sean Abbott’s ascension to the Test squad has also given the Sydney Sixers something to consider.
Perth Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner is also under an injury cloud after a side injury playing grade cricket.
Clubs are also awaiting certainty from Cricket Australia on when the Test squad will depart for Sri Lanka ahead of the first Test in Galle on January 29. The BBL regular season ends on January 21.
WBBL NEEDS A ‘RETHINK’
Cricket Australia has been urged to consider overlapping the men’s and women’s Big Bash League seasons following a “disappointing” turnout for the WBBL decider on Sunday.
Though average WBBL attendances were up 23 per cent across the regular season after the competition was reduced by 16 games, Queensland Cricket chief Terry Svenson said the showpiece matches on the calendar were not getting broad enough exposure.
When launched in 2015, the WBBL was played in conjunction with the BBL.
The schedule included double-headers during the regular season, while WBBL finals were initially aligned with the men’s league, which meant women’s teams ceded home-ground advantage in the finals.
That all changed in 2019 when CA pushed the WBBL forward to a stand-alone window and the competition started in October.
Svenson, whose Brisbane Heat lost the final to the Melbourne Renegades in front of 5844 at the MCG, pointed to the success of double-headers in The Hundred competition in England as proof that the idea should be revisited in Australia.
“The schedule needs a rethink and we need to consider what England are doing with The Hundred,” Svenson said.
“The women’s game before the men or vice versa. To have up to 20,000 fans watching the women’s hundred is outstanding.
“It was disappointing to have (5882) fans at the MCG to watch the final of the WBBL, a game with some of the best international and domestic cricketers on show.
“At the very least, an overlap of seasons with the WBBL finals and BBL opening rounds. It showcases our cricketers in front of our fans and grows our game.
“More girls and boys will watch and play our game. I reckon the broadcasters will love it.”
Several hurdles complicate Svenson’s pitch.
The ICC recently unveiled an updated women’s future tours program that extends to 2029 and it blocks out a window for the WBBL across November, meaning it is due to finish well before CA’s preferred school holiday window for the BBL.
January is now also off limits to the WBBL because that month is the domain of the Women’s Premier League in India.
That men’s Tests tend to be played through December, which also limits the potential broadcast openings for double-headers.
In contrast, The Hundred has its own window in which no Tests are played.
CA said average WBBL television and streaming numbers increased by 46 per cent during the home-and-away season after commercially unappealing weekday afternoon matches were largely abolished from the schedule.
Next season’s WBBL will immediately follow a women’s 50-over World Cup in India.
Svenson also queried the weather rules that meant the Heat’s chase was reduced to 12 overs when rain interrupted play early in Brisbane’s innings.
“It was great to see a team that had never won the WBBL claim victory,” Svenson said.
“The Renegades have played well all year. Congratulations to the Renegades.
“I feel for the fans. They missed seeing a whole game.
“Surely we could have had both teams bat 20 overs. I think the playing conditions need a rethink for the final from Cricket Australia.”
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Originally published as Leg Buys: Brisbane Heat fill the final BBL spot as they urge CA to make WBBL change
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